My DNA Changes Again!! 0_0 ... :P, just another Ancestry Update

Another Ancestry Update = Another Existential Crises. :P

Heh, no, it's all good and funny. I got more Scottish! Up from like 19% or so, can't remember. My English was around 30% last time, and now it's split with Germany. And I've still got 2% Welsh.

 

I'm pretty much dominant Celtic. I really need to watch documentaries on the Celtics. Watched one once, and all I gathered from it was how obsessed Celts were with black magic. Is that the reason I'm so spiritually sensitive and attacked?

 

(Actually, I have a really weird story. In my mid 20's I went to the temple to do baptisms. In my room there was a small table, and when I came home the glass top from this table was on the floor. On top of this table I displayed four fairy figures, but now these figures were spread around my room, one against a wall with another under a bookshelf, the others spread in between.  So many things on these fragile figures could have broke, but the only thing that broke, on all the figures, were the wings. No one in my family did it, and I trust them. My Dad is a miracle worker with super glue and fixed them. This experience always freaked me out, but I put it in the back of my mind... until doing research on Celtic Fairy tales for the podcast last year, and after listening to a book on the subject, and realizing how connected those old Celt beliefs were tied to black magic, I thought of my broken fairies, and how only the wings broke, scattered beyond physics from one end of my room to another. Something out there was mad at me for going to the temple and wanted to scare me. I'm stronger than that. I got rid of that table many years later when, late at night, a crystal was knocked off. I heard shuffling around my room, which stopped when I turned on the light and picked up the crystal. I wasn't paralyzed, so it wasn't sleep paralysis.  Yup... fun stuff. Is it any wonder I sleep with a night light!!?)

Back to DNA! 

This update seems more trustworthy than the last. My Mom got her Scottish back! A whole 9%. She's 7% Welsh, and now has German at 10%, which is completely new. Her English went down.

It seems that some of the previous English percentages contained German, that are now easier to detect.

 

A newer feature is the parental breakdown of inherited DNA. In the pie chart it says Parent 1 and Parent 2, but since my parents DNA has been done I can figure who each parent is, and assigned them as such.

 

My Dad is 56% English, which was a huge surprise.

 

Anywho, I'm still going through all the results.

Fun stuff. :D

 

 

 Sarah

Ancestry DNA Has A New Update: Separating England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales

Ancestry DNA has a new update which separates the British Isles.  There used to be only two ethnicities: England and Scotland/Ireland.  Now England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are all separated.   And alas I have all but Wales.

This is what I am now, before it changes again.  In the brackets are my ranges, as Ancestry does this whole "1,000 Estimates" thing using probabilities, a reference panel, and what is known.  The percentages are derived by algorithms based on current knowledge and information.  Essentially this information is subject to change, because DNA research is still imperfect.  This is what the algorithm assigned me: England (30-36%), Ireland 35% (0-43%), Scotland 19% (0-20%), Germanic Europe 6% (0-20%), Norway 4% (0-5%).

Now, this is what the system gave me.  Once upon a time I was able to see the whole list of ethnicities and what they tested, and even if the system didn't assign an ethnicity to me, doesn't mean I don't have it.  I used to be able to click on a random Ethnicity and see if it was all 0%, or if there was a small percentage bracket.  For instance my Mom is Ireland 56% (42-63%) and my Aunt is Ireland 50% (34-55%), yet my Grandma didn't register as having any Irish.  If I was allowed to see the full list of ethnicities and then click on Irish, I could see what the tested bracket percentage said.  My Grandma has Irish in her family tree, though it's possible they emigrated from Scotland (as she registers 37% Scottish), but with my Mom having 56% Irish with the percentage bracket she does, there's no way my Grandma doesn't have a small percentage of Irish.

Also, I was hoping to have some Welsh in my DNA, so that I could be British Isles Divergent (nerd reference).  Apparently I don't have any, though my Dad is 2% Welsh (0-13%), Mom is 1% Welsh (0-7%), my brother Steven 5% Welsh (0-11%), and my Grandma Stuff. is 4%.  I have gone down my Dad's family tree on the Family Tree website, and there is Welsh there, some of which are royalty (which I take with a grain of salt, but it's fun).  I've found Welsh elsewhere.  It's a little, but there's a paper trail.  Proof that our DNA is a hint of linage, but not a true representation of our heritage and family history.  DNA is simply what we inherit. 

The most interesting discovery is between my Grandpa R and Grandma A.  We always assumed my Grandpa had a lot of Scottish.  He was obsessed with Scotland, yet he only has 5% (0-14%).  Ironically my Grandma A has more with 37% (0-37%).   It's just funny.  Though my Grandpa was 91% Irish (71-95%), connecting with 9 regions all through the south of Ireland, from Kerry to East Cork.

It's all fun.  It's interesting comparing the results of my family.  My Grandma's brother, my Great Uncle, had France 3% (0-7%) and Spain 1% (0-1%) show up in his results, so that's interesting.  And even though Steven is the only one of my siblings to have Wales show up in his DNA, he only registered 6% Scottish (0-13%), whereas my brother Michael is 33% Scottish (2-35%).  Steven is 47% Irish (22-54%).  It's just interesting how similar, yet different we all are, even with the same linage.

So I've spent the weekend nerding out over Family History. :0)

PS. I don't care what they say, I'm still British Isles Divergent.

Honoring My Ancestor Ensign Brintnel Robbins this Independence Day

The interesting thing about doing family history is realizing one of the greatest resources for gathering stories and linking families: Pension war testimonies.  War is sad, but historically the records kept during each American war are of great worth.  And when an ancestor does give testimony, either for himself or another, there are true gems to be found.  Gallant stories.  Acts of heroism.  Bringing to life a name on a family chart that would have otherwise blended in.

Ensign Brintnel Robbins is my 5th great-grandfather, born 1756 in Connecticut and died July 25, 1836, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.  He fought every chance he could during the revolutionary war, and when he wasn't marching/fighting he was making saltpeter.

On his gravestone it lists his battles of engagements as Concord, New London, White Plains, Rhode Island, Monmouth, Trenton, Valley Forge, etc.  Each time Brintnel enlisted he was in his brother Captain Samuel Robbins company

His grave mentions Concord, but in his pension he talks about fighting in Lexington.  Battles is plural, so I suppose he was at Lexington and Concord:

"I was engaged in the battles of Lexington, we had a good deal of Sharp Shooting we had to retreat at the first onset but we soon got more help, and the British Soldiers had to fly in turn, we had an old cannon - we put it on a waggon, we loaded it with broken metal pots, which the women carried us, then we got log chains and loaded it with them, we shot at the Soldiers from behind fences, and walls and every place where we could protect ourselves from their fire."

Then he talks about marching from New London to New York where the waited for General Washington to retreat from New York Island to White Plains.

"I was engages in the battle of the White Plains.  The British were within a short distance of us, and were marching and maneuvering within sight of us all morning, and the American army were mostly entrenched and on high or elevated ground not far from White Plains, the firing commenced about 3 O'clock in the afternoon, there were a good many killed on both sides, during the engagement three musket balls passed through my hat, but I received no wound . . . After the battle we were marched to North Castle where we lay for some time, and General Washington crossed the North River with part of the army and marched to a place called Fort Lee, which the British soon afterwards captured, they also captured Fort Washington about the same time, the company that I belonged to was dismissed at North Castle."

And later, with another enlistment:

"I was marched to Rhode Island and was engaged in the battle that was fought about 2 miles from the city of New Port, in or about the last of August of that year, General Sulivan was our commanding officer & General Tyler was there also.  We got defeated and had to retreat by the north end of the Island.  The enemy pursued us close and we had to face about and try them another spell, and we soon had hot work of it, we were constantly under arms for three days and three nights in succession, we got off the island in the night in boats and every way we could.  General Lafayette was at this place, but not in the battle, we crossed Kings Bridge and the British did not pursue us any further."

There's some more, but these were the more exciting parts.  At the end of the testimony he declares he was never wounded, despite "4 hard fought battles and a number of skirmishes," which is amazing.

One of the reasons I love studying family history is because it brings history alive and makes it personal, giving a different perspective than what is presented in history books.  History is exciting!  Tragic.  Crazy.  But none of us would be here now if these things didn't happen, and it's good to be aware.

Someday I hope to visit the east coast, so the places by ancestors lived and even fought, as I have several ancestors in the Revolution, War of 1812, and the Civil War, Gettysburg included.

Study your family history.  You never know what tales you may unfold.

 

Seeing My Grandpa's Updated AncestryDNA Region Results Has Me Dreaming of Ireland

(Last September in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland)

A few months ago there was an update to AncestryDNA results.  They always send the message that our DNA doesn't change, but their information, samples, algorithms, etc, get better.  My percentages changed: 55% Ireland & Scotland, 37% England, Wales & Northwestern Europe, 4% Sweden, 2% Norway, 2% Germanic Europe.  So I think this means I'm 55% Celtic and 37% Anglo Saxon.  Could be wrong.

I was excited to see what my maternal Grandparent results had changed to, did it better match what I know from research?  My Grandma A: 50% England, Wales & Northwestern Europe, 31% Germanic Europe, 15% Ireland & Scotland, 4% Norway.  All her Iberian Peninsula, which was about 14%, gone.  My Grandpa R: 90% Ireland & Scotland, 8% England, Wales & Northwestern Europe, and 2% Norway.  His 90% Ireland and Scotland are no surprise.

Then yesterday I got an email that said AncestryDNA has 150 new regions, 92 regions in Ireland.

I had to see what Irish regions my family taps into.

 

I personally only tap into one: East Cork & Waterford.  I might have to collect more crystal. :0)

 

My Mom taps into four: South West Munster, East Cork & Waterford, East Cork, and Iveragh Peninsula.  My Aunt Tam taps into those four plus North Munster.

 Then I looked up my Grandpa.  9 whole regions, all in the South of Ireland: South West Munster, Iveragh Peninsula, Beara Peninsula, East Cork & Waterford, North Munster, East Cork, West Cork, Killarney, and East Beara Peninsula.  The Mahoney's, in which I'm connected, originate in the south of Ireland, so these results match that.  My Mahoney line dead ends in Newfoundland, so having this regional confirmation is nice.  My O'Neil line dead ends in Maine, USA, though the clan history is more north Ireland.  The other Irish family names in my line aren't prominent enough to have a coat of arms or clan history.

 This is exciting, because the two times I've visited Ireland it was this region, and it felt like home.  It was wonderful.  Beautiful landscapes and very nice people.  Now I want to return and see so many places, mainly the Ring of Kerry, but traveling up the coast from Cork to Waterford would be fun as well.

Okay, I just want to go back to Ireland.

Exploring AncestryDNA Genetic Communities; Comparing Different Family Members

 (All photos are screen shots from the Ancestry.com mobile app)

Last week Ancestry.com gave us a brand new update to AncestryDNA called AncestryDNA Genetic Communities.  I'm still learning about it, so this blog post is about my casual observations comparing myself with my parents, siblings, aunt, and maternal grandparents.

When you take a DNA test through Ancestry there are 26 Ethnicity's that can appear in your results, taking the last 1000 years or so into account.  There are over 300 DNA Communities which shows what is happening in your linage in the last few hundred years, showing migrations.

There's a considerable amount of communities all over the world and in the United States.  There's five Genetic Communities in "Settlers of Colonial New England" alone.

I love this new update because my ethnicity DNA doesn't get into my American Heritage, showing I'm mainly Great Britain (Scots and Welsh included), Irish, and Scandinavia.  And even though this is cool, showing what regional DNA I've inherited, it doesn't get into my deep American roots, which I'm also interested in learning.

When you sign into DNA and get into the communities there's a video you can watch, which is also found on Youtube: Introducing AncestryDNA Genetic Communities.  It's only a couple minutes. There's another helpful video from AncestryUK called Understanding Your Genetic Communities, which is around six minutes.

My Communities:

I'm only in two genetic communities: Settlers of the Missouri Ozarks & East Tennessee; Early Settlers of Eastern Kentucky & Northeast Tennessee.

Am I in total shock?  Nope.  This is all on my Dad's side of the family.

Just look at the Hugh Patrick genetic circle I belong to.  Crazy strong.

 

 He was born in Virginia and migrated to Kentucky with his family.

I am interested in knowing more about my Missouri roots, but there's a major brick wall with my paternal great-great grandfather.  My great grandfather Norman Rhoades was born in Bolivar, Poke, Missouri in 1909, but here's the kicker, Rhoades is his mother's maiden name. She died never telling my great grandfather who his biological father was.  Lula Rhoades married Harvey Kelley, and they later moved to Ventura CA.  My only clue over Norman's father is, according to my Dad, Lula worked as a maid for some major family in Missouri, and something might have happened then.  Who knows?  It just might remain a permanent mystery.  But it appears I do have some deep Missouri roots.

What I like about these communities is that there's historical information by date, events that may have affected ancestors and caused them to move or whatnot.

 

Click on a time period and all this cool information pops up.  The map changes while showing different information as you change from one historical event to another.

Before I get into more detail, it was interesting comparing what communities I was in verses other members of my family.  There were a few different communities.

Steven and Robbie's Community:

Sadly my brothers Steven and Robbie are only in one community, and it's the very same community: Settlers of the Missouri Ozarks & East Tennessee.

Michael's Community:

 My brother Michael got a community no one else in my family got:

Settlers of Western Ohio, Indiana, Illinois & Southern Iowa.

This is the only community he got.

Here's what's funny, Michael was called to serve a mission in the South Chicago mission, which also included parts of Illinois and Indiana.

We have super strong Iowa roots.

And apparently there's a small museum in Toledo Iowa that has a good amount of information about my Emerson ancestors.

Man I would love to visit.

My Dad's Communities:

My Dad belongs to three communities:

 Early Settlers of the Lower Midwest & Virginia; Early Settlers of Eastern Kentucky & Northeast Tennessee; Settlers of Southwest Virginia & Eastern Kentucky.

 My Mom's Communities:

My Mom belongs to three: Irish in Kerry, English Newfoundlanders, and Settlers of Rhode Island & Southeastern Massachusetts.

 It's interesting that on my Mom's map, even though she's only apart of the Irish in Kerry, it also brings up Munster Irish.  The Kerry ancestors, I believe, are from my Grandpa's side, whereas I found an ancestor on my Grandma's side born in Dublin.

We're just very southern Irish.

My Aunt's (Mom's Sister) Communities:

She actually belongs to a total of four communities: Irish in Kerry; English Newfoundlanders; Settlers of New England & the Eastern Great Lakes; Settlers of Colonial New England.

My Maternal Grandpa's Communities:

My maternal Grandfathers communities: English Newfloundlanders and Irish in Kerry.

It's been this huge mystery tracing back my Grandfather's Grandmother's roots, Mary Hallisey.  There's two Mary Hallisey's with parents named John and Ellen born around the same time, one in Kerry and one in Cork.  When I ask my Grandpa where Ma immigrated from he says Kerry, so this gives some validation.

My Maternal Grandma's Community:

And my Grandma's community: Settlers of Rhode Island & Southeastern Massachusetts.

 The "very likely" shows how confident Ancestry is in my Grandmother belonging to this community, whereas my Mom is only Possible, and it doesn't show up in my communities at all.  It's all in the name of inherited DNA.  Amazing how much can disappear in just three generations. 

 As you click through the history in each community it will bring up your ancestors that were in the area during the time mentioned.

 And a lot of cool graphics on the map pops up.

Giant dots represents those in the community.

Little pointers with numbers are ancestors in your tree.

(See how important it is to add a family tree with your DNA?)

 And with David Davis Eby we're also apart of his DNA circle.

Genetic Communities are very interesting, and I like the path of migration and historical information provided.  Of course, the accuracy of this information also depends on the accuracy of family trees along with records and so forth.  There's a lot of inaccurate genealogy research, which is frustrating, and I'm guilty.  Still, this is a cool update in which I still have a lot to explore.

So in total my family belongs to:

Settlers of the Missouri Ozarks & East Tennessee

Early Settlers of Eastern Kentucky & Northeast Tennessee

Settlers of Western Ohio, Indiana, Illinois & Southern Iowa

Early Settlers of the Lower Midwest & Virginia

Settlers of Southwest Virginia & Eastern Kentucky

 Irish in Kerry

English Newfoundlanders

Settlers of Rhode Island & Southeastern Massachusetts

Settlers of New England & the Eastern Great Lakes

Settlers of Colonial New England

So even though I belong to two, there are a total of 10 my family belongs to.